Everpar Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Everpar Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,396,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other Caterpillar news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, for a total transaction of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. The trade was a 5.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $356.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $327.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $348.63. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 58.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is currently 27.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird raised Caterpillar from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised Caterpillar from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Caterpillar from $320.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.92.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.